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Charlotte Hornets: Grading The Offseason

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 12, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15), center Bismack Biyombo (8), and forward Noah Vonleh (11) walk toward the bench during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 12, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15), center Bismack Biyombo (8), and forward Noah Vonleh (11) walk toward the bench during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Charlotte Hornets
Mar 1, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Lance Stephenson (1) looks on against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Amway Center. Charlotte Hornets defeated the Orlando Magic 98-83. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Trading Lance Stephenson for Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes

Boy, how quickly that fell apart. One year ago, stealing Lance Stephenson from Larry Bird and the Indiana Pacers felt like a victory. With a backcourt of Kemba Walker and Born Ready, the Hornets theoretically had playmaking, defense, rebounding and modest shooting between its two guards.

But then Stephenson failed to fit in, ruined the team’s chemistry, and completely laid an egg on the 2014-15 season, averaging 8.2 points per game on 37.6 percent shooting from the field and an atrocious 17.1 percent shooting from downtown. Getting rid of Stephenson, even at age 24, represented Charlotte’s best shot at improving in an addition-by-subtraction kind of move.

Unfortunately, the return wasn’t particularly bountiful. Matt Barnes was easily the best acquisition for Charlotte, but he didn’t stick around for long. What the Hornets are left with is Spencer Hawes, someone who had a similarly terrible season in his stint with the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 5.8 points per game while shooting 39.3 percent from the field (31.1 percent from deep).

Hawes failed to earn Doc Rivers‘ trust and crack the rotation, averaging a meager 17.5 minutes per game, but the Hornets are desperate for three-point shooting. There’s a bit of a logjam in the frontcourt, but even if Hawes is unable to spread the floor in a bounce-back season (he did shoot 41.6 percent from deep in 2013-14), this might be a good move simply for the sake of removing Born Ready from the equation.

Grade: B

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